Head to the Samuel Worth Chapel within Sheffield General Cemetery for a weekend of free talks and workshops with local community and faith groups, inspired by this year's Heritage Open Days theme of Edible England. Talks and workshops will be on the subjects of food and grief, foraging, and community kitchen gardens.
Sessions will include:
Saturday
2pm – Social Pickle
Social Pickle is a project based at Foodhall that harnesses the surplus of Sheffield and brings people together to share the joys of foraging, fermenting, pickling and producing. They'll be talking about how the microcommunities all around us – including the microbes in the soil and in fermented foods – sustain and nourish us to build supporting communities of people right here in Sheffield. The talk will provide some background on how to ferment different foods, including wild and foraged foods, and how these play a role in our own health.
3pm – Fran Halsall & Regather
Fran Halsall, Urban Agriculture Co-ordinator at Regather, will discuss her work and the importance of urban kitchen gardens.
4pm – Food & Stories
Katherine Blessan and Blessan K. Babu will use drama, interviews and talk to share the story of their journey of using food and storytelling to create a culture of welcome and hospitality amongst refugees and asylum seekers and beyond. Food becomes a way to celebrate together, honour the other and a space to challenge racism and stereotyping.
Talks will take place in a marquee next to the Samuel Worth Chapel. No need to book for any of the above talks.
Sunday
11am – Death Cafe with Penny Merrett.
Find out more
Check the General Cemetery's Facebook page for updates.
There'll also be a pop-up cafe with cakes provided by Jamesons of Abbeydale Road and a bookstall selling the General Cemetery's publications.
There's tons more happening over the weekend in the General Cemetery as part of Heritage Open Days. Follow the links below for more details.
Medicinal Plants Self-guided Trail – follow the trail in the cemetery and the Botanical Gardens to learn about woodland cures, foraging folk remedies, and purposefully grown plants for medicine. Audio version also available.
Eco-Stitchers Exhibition – in the chapel, local artist group Eco-Stitchers present work focusing on the impacts of climate change on food production. They'll also offer activities including leaf rubbing, printing with vegetables and simple stitching onto leaf prints.
Food and Grief Exhibition – an online and in-person exhibition that examines the culture of food around death and grief, created in collaboration with local faith groups.
Confectioner’s Corner – an outdoor exhibition about Sheffield confectioners, many of whom are buried in Sheffield General Cemetery. Created in collaboration with local sweet manufactures Maxons Ltd and Simpkins Ltd, whose treats you'll be able to buy in an old fashioned sweetie stall in the chapel. There'll also be kids activities including a quiz and confectionary inspired crafting.
